Multitudes mourned comedian and actor Bob Saget upon his death earlier this year, a too-soon passing that hit home on Tuesday, what would have been his 66th birthday.
Perhaps most poignant were the birthdays that coincided with the beloved entertainer’s, and none more so than that of his widow, Kelly Rizzo Saget.
“Happy birthday my Love,” Rizzo, who will turn 43 on Thursday, wrote on Instagram. “These pictures and videos were taken exactly 1 year ago in Mexico. We always celebrated our birthdays together with a trip. (His is the 17th and mine is 19th). This last trip was so special.”
The post and her Instagram stories were full of romantic memories — of Saget hoisting a plate holding a cake and a giant firework candle, talking and laughing; of him staring lovingly into the camera at dinner.
“I love you more than anything and miss you every minute,” Rizzo wrote. “Your girls and I will hold on tight to each other today. And I know you’d want me to get a martini tonight, so I’ll oblige. Happy birthday, honey.”
Saget was found dead in his hotel room on Jan. 9 from what investigators later determined was an accidental blunt-force trauma. The actor had apparently fallen, hit his head, thought nothing of it and died in his sleep. In addition to Rizzo he left behind daughters Aubrey, Lara and Jennifer.
“We both celebrated each other so big,” his widow continued. “You never know when something is going to be ‘the last’ time. But I’m so grateful that he was showered with all of the love he deserves.”
Saget was showered with love upon love on Tuesday from friends, former co-stars and fans.
Pal Craig Ferguson was especially hard hit, since he was born on the same day, albeit a few years after.
“Bob Saget and I would always text each other on our shared birthday,” tweeted the comedian, who celebrated the big 6-0 on Tuesday. “No text this year. Happy Birthday Bob, wherever you are.”
Bereaved hearts overflowed onto social media.
“Happy Birthday, Bob,” John Mayer wrote on Instagram. “We all miss you terribly down here. Though the days without you keep growing, so too does our grasp on everything we adore and admire about you, the love we learned to share because of your example, and the endless joy you gave at all times to the world around you.”
“Full House” co-stars Candace Cameron Bure, who played his daughter in the comedy series, fondly recalled her onscreen dad.
“I miss you,” she wrote in an emoji-filled Instagram post. “Do I still say happy birthday? I don’t know how this works, but I’m celebrating you today, however badly my heart hurts.”
Also mourning on Instagram was John Stamos, who had played Saget’s brother-in-law on the show. He posted a photo of the two of them at the beach.
“Death ends a life, not a relationship,” Stamos captioned his offering, quoting actor Jack Lemmon. “Happy Birthday Bobby. I miss you madly.”
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